Democratic leaders did not rest during the recent Christmas holiday recess, but instead spent the time formulating strategy to spend the first 100 hours of the new legislative session fast-tracking legislation by manipulating House rules to exclude Republican input.
Such a move, pro-family experts said, goes against November's campaign promise of bipartisan partnership.
One of the bills expected to be introduced is Rep. Marty Meehan's effort to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," a policy concerning the service of homosexuals in the military.
"We cannot afford to keep losing the talent and contributions of patriotic, gay American who want to serve," Meehan, D-Mass., told 365Gay.com. "Our military success depends on having the best and brightest Americans in our armed forces. The best and brightest includes lesbian and gay Americans, too."
Meehan said not only is he asking for the repeal, he will also ask his colleagues to hold a congressional hearing on the subject.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who will become speaker of the House on Thursday, said the agenda also includes plans to tighten ethics rules, raise the minimum wage and loosen restrictions on federal funding of destructive embryonic stem-cell research.
Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Pelosi, said Democratic leaders are not going to allow Republican input into legislation that liberals have been sitting on for a long time.
"We've talked about these things for more than a year," he told the Washington Post. "The members and the public know what we're voting on. So in the first 100 hours, we're going to pass these bills."
Amanda Banks, federal policy analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said ist sounds like Democrats plan to significantly limit the ability of Republicans to offer amendments to bills.
"Before any bill is brought to the floor for debate and a vote, it goes through the Rules Committee," she said. "That committee decides how the debate will be governed."
Recently under Republican leadership, Democrats have been allowed to offer substitute amendments, or alternative versions of legislation – but according to Banks, Pelosi is not planning to offer the same to Republicans, at least not in the first 100 hours.
"We have to wonder if this is going to be the Democrats' standard line -- that Republicans will have no input," Banks said. "That's disingenuous based on what Pelosi has said in the past about working together and ensuring that Republicans are part of the process."
Tom Minnery, senior vice president of government and public policy for Focus on the Family Action, said he is not surprised House Democrats are already reneging on their pledge to include Republicans in legislative deliberations.
"In fact, this is exactly what we predicted," he said. "It's clear that Nancy Pelosi and her leadership coalition never planned to foster the civility and bipartisanship that they pledged during the election would be the hallmarks of their majority."
Though control of Congress has shifted, Minnery said, the Democrats should remember that Americans are still concerned with the preservation of marriage and the sanctity of human life.
"American families will take note of this manipulation of House rules to preclude the minority party from fulfilling its role of providing balance and perspective to the Democrats' legislative agenda," he said. "As a result, we can only expect the passage of legislation that will threaten the stability and dignity of the family and life itself.
"We call on those representatives and senators who uphold traditional values – as well as President Bush – to stand firm in defense of the institutions that have made our country strong: marriage, family and religious liberty."
TAKE ACTION
Let your congressman know -- no matter what party he or she belongs to -- that you expect him or her to vote in favor of traditional values. For contact information, including an easy-to-use e-mail form, visit the CitizenLink Action Center.
(Paid for by Focus on the Family Action)
